Kennametal CEO Carlos Cardoso will be retiring at the end of the year after nine years at the helm of the Latrobe-based manufacturer.

Cardoso, 56, has been president and CEO of Kennametal (NYSE: KMT) since January 2006 and was named chairman in January 2008. Kennametal said it had launched a search for Cardoso's replacement from inside and outside the company, a process the board of directors said it hoped would be finished by the end of the year.

"I've often said to our employees and publicly that seven to ten years is the optimum time period for a chief executive to manage most effectively. With this in mind, I've worked regularly with the board on management succession," said Cardoso in a prepared statement. "Everyone at Kennametal has worked very hard in recent years to establish a good long-range plan, solid strategies, and we now have a complete and effective management team in place. With that in mind, this has emerged as the best time to engage in a smooth leadership transition."

"Carlos Cardoso has served well as a strong leader through an important time in the company's history," he said in a prepared statement. "We appreciate the efforts Carlos has made on behalf of the company and look forward to working together with him to achieve a smooth transition in leadership."

Cardoso has not only run Kennametal, but he has also been a key voice for American manufacturing since joining Kennametal in 2003 to lead its Metalworking Solutions and Services Group. He has been a member of the U.S. Manufacturing Council and the National Association of Manufacturers, and is immediate past chairman of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation.

Cardoso is No. 14 on the Pittsburgh Business Times' list of highest-paid executives in the Pittsburgh region, with $5.8 million in compensation in 2012.